This invention relates to an apparatus for opening and cleaning cotton waste particularly strips, card fly, scutcher waste, comber waste, filter waste and under-card waste. The apparatus comprises a fiber feed arrangement for advancing the fiber material to an opening roll and further has a screen which is situated downstream of the feeding device in the direction of the opening roll as well as a fiber collecting bin. An apparatus of this type is disclosed, for example, in German Published Accepted Application (Auslegeschrift) No. 2,755,380.